Emerald Bindings
by ajpotter2
Summary: After the Yule Ball Harry realizes his feelings for Hermione. This revelation though will change his life more than he ever predicted. Long hidden secrets will be revealed and Harry will be closer to giving up than ever before. H/Hr, Soul-Bond, Powerful Harry and powerful Hermione!
1. Forgive Me

A/N: Hello everyone. It has been a long time since I have written on here but that's college life for you. Now that I am done and actually have some time I started coming up with ideas again.

This story will for sure be H/Hr along with soul bonds and powerful Harry. If the ship isn't for you then please don't read. I am a big believer in the idea of a multiverse and I know that somewhere out there a universe exists where Harry and Hermione are the canon. Unfortunately, that didn't happen here (as much as I wish it was that universe) but at least I have fanfiction. :)

Finally, I don't own Harry Potter. All of the characters belong to JKR but if she wants to give me the rights to the wonderful world of HP I will be happy to take it off her hands.

Chapter 1: Forgive Me

Harry Potter sighed as he started his third trek around the black lake that day. It already seemed like a long day and it was only slightly after breakfast.

"_I should be happy. The Yule Ball is finally over and I don't have to worry about looking like an idiot trying to dance." _, thought Harry. _"Instead I feel like I'm going to explode." _Pinching the bridge of his nose, Harry reflected back on what had brought him to this point.

It had all started with the announcement of the Yule Ball. Harry really did not want to take part in it but since he was a champion he had to attend and he had to have a date. "_Overall attending the ball shouldn't have been this bad. I know I have never danced before but it seems like girls know a lot about dancing or at least Parvati did," _he thought. Even with this reflection he knew that he had worked himself into a frenzy over the ball and looking back that was the least of his problems.

Once he had accepted the fact that he had to attend the ball he had to face his next challenge: Finding a date. Harry had known instantly that he wanted to ask Cho, but he just never took a chance to actually do it. Finally, when he did ask her it was already too late. _"Yes, Cedric had already asked her, but could I really expect people to not ask her? I mean she is very pretty and she plays Quidditch."_ The slightly annoyed feelings he was having towards Cedric calmed down at this thought. "_It isn't Cedric's fault. The only person who is at fault for this is myself." _Accepting this as the truth Harry moved on to his next set of thoughts and started the rollercoaster of emotions all over again.

/****Flashback****/

The champions were assembling in the entrance hall and Harry had just caught site of Cho and Cedric together. As annoyance started to flair within him Harry heard Parvati exclaim, "Wow, doesn't she look beautiful!" Whirling around Harry's eyes widened as he looked up to see the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen descending the stairs. He was so stunned that he continued to gape at her before his mind finally caught up to him and he realized the girl was Hermione. "Hermione..." he had struggled to get out as she drew closer to him. She smiled at him upon hearing her name and stopped right next to both him and Parvati. Hermione turned and greeted Parvati with "Parvati you look beautiful in that dress." Parvati shook her head and replied with "Thanks! You look great too. " Smiling Hermione turned to Harry, "and you Mr. Potter look quite dashing tonight as well."

Smiling Harry replied, "You look absolutely gorgeous Hermione." Her cheeks pinked at this and Harry was so transfixed upon her that he didn't notice the slight scowl on Parvati's face. As much as Harry's world had soared at seeing how beautiful Hermione looked it was about to come crashing down. At that moment, Krum decided to come over to get Hermione. It was then that Harry realized that Krum was Hermione's date for the night and the happiness he had felt moments before was replaced by a burning hatred of Krum. Harry's face dropped but no one noticed because at that instant Professor McGonagall told the champions that it was time to enter the hall.

As the night progressed Harry tried to ignore the annoyance that he kept feeling but it was hard. It seemed like no matter which way he looked that fate was trying to piss him off. If he looked one way on the dance floor he saw Cho and Cedric dancing together which annoyed him, but if turned to the opposite direction he saw Hermione and Krum together which annoyed him even more. He knew that he was being unfair to Parvati but he just couldn't stand to do anything besides sit there. When she was asked to dance by the beauxbaton's boy he merely shrugged hoping that now he would be left alone. Unfortunately that was not the case because Ron also seemed to be upset about Krum and Hermione dancing together. Harry wasn't sure why Ron was upset, hell he wasn't even sure why he was upset. Unlike Harry though, Ron was not able to just brood about the things that bothered him and when he finally had the chance to talk to Hermione he went off on her.

"Hey guys how's it going? It such a wonderful night isn't it?" Hermione asked as she made her way over to them with a smile on her face.

"What the hell is wrong with you Hermione?" Ron spat back at her.

The smile dropped from her face. "What are you on about Ronald?"

"You and Vicky waltzing all over the place..." At this point Harry stopped paying attention to their row. He was conflicted on what he was feeling. On one hand he agreed with Ron, he didn't like Hermione waltzing around the room or dirty dancing or any kind of dancing for that matter. On the other hand he wanted to hit Ron because he was yelling at Hermione and she didn't deserve to be treated like that. Even if it was just a verbal confrontation Harry knew that he would always protect Hermione but now his need to protect her felt even greater and he didn't know why. He didn't get to think on this any longer though because Ron's next words shocked him back to reality.

"What are you gonna do now? Go snuggle up next to Krum and help him figure out the egg? What about Harry? How could you betray him like that?" Ron shouted.

"How dare you! I would never betray Harry. I will always do everything in my power to help him and for your information Krum hasn't talked to me once about the tournament!" she snarled back at him. "The whole point of this damn tournament is to make friends and thats what I am trying to do."

"Yeah well it seems like he wants to be a lot more than friends," said Ron.

Hermione just huffed and stalked off while Ron fell back into his chair and glared at her. Harry had fallen back into his own world though and was immediately bombarded by a number of conflicting emotions. Initially when Ron had talked about Hermione leaving them for Krum he had felt a sense of hurt and panic. "_Life without Hermione?"_ Harry couldn't contemplate what that would be like. Hermione had always been by his side no matter what happened. If she was gone he felt like he would be lost. _"She has always been by my side though. Even when everyone else doubted me or thought I was a liar she was always there and her believe in me has never wavered." _As soon as this thought struck him he knew that Ron was wrong. Hermione would never leave him or betray him. Seconds later she would confirm his thoughts but Harry didn't really know what to do. He was still so torn over all of the feelings he was having and all he wanted was for the night to end.

As the night started to wind down, Harry felt that it was okay for him to make his escape. Both Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found so he set off for the staircase leading to Gryffindor tower alone. He silently made his way up to Gryffindor tower trying to keep from thinking about all of the different thoughts and emotions that were going through is mind. As he made his way through the portrait hole the silence was quickly shattered by the argument happening in the common room. Ron and Hermione were still fighting but it seemed like Harry had just caught the tail end of it. Ron threw up his hands and marched up to the boys door. While Hermione turned to him and said "What? Come to complain about Victor and try to ruin my night even more?" Harry opened his mouth to say something but nothing came. After a second Hermione turned and stalked up to the girl's dormitory and slammed the door shut. Harry just hung his head in shame and slowly made his way up to the boy's dormitory.

Yes, it was this rollercoaster night that prevented Harry from getting a lot of sleep and pushed him out onto the grounds to clear his head. At 6 in the morning, after a night of tossing and turning, he gave up on sleep and decided to go flying. The initial sensation of getting on his broom was exhilarating and helped relieve his problems but after a couple minutes of flying they quickly came back. After flying around and trying to deal with his thoughts and feelings for over an hour, Harry finally gave up on flying being a cure. He was so frustrated, upset, annoyed, and ashamed that not even flying could solve his problems. After landing by the black lake he slung his Firebolt over his shoulder and started to walk.

/****End of Flashback ****/

"_Why am I so upset about Hermione dancing with Krum? I know I was annoyed at Cedric for being with Cho but that doesn't compare at all to what I am feeling about the Hermione and Krum situation." _Harry shook his head. "_No, Cho and Cedric don't matter. What about Krum though? I don't really have anything against him, but then again I haven't really interacted with him a lot. Its not like Krum has been overly chatty."_ Harry thought as he remembered the night the champions were chosen and being in the tent with Krum before the first task. _"What about Krum being with Hermione?"_ As soon as he thought about this images from the previous night came back and all of his emotions flared again. _"Am I jealous that Krum got to go to the ball with Hermione?"_ Harry tried to dismiss this thought, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. So he turned his thoughts towards his best friend.

"_Why would something Hermione has done bother me? Hermione never does anything to bother me that's Ron's job. Hermione is the one that always helps me stay on top of my classes, cheers me on, and keeps me from dying. Okay, there was that incident last year, but yet again she was only doing what she thought she needed to do to save my life."_ Harry continued to think of all of the things Hermione had done for him and the time they spent together. His mind raced up to the previous night and he again saw her coming down the stairs looking more beautiful than any other girl he had ever seen. _"Unlike Ron I have always known that Hermione was a girl. I always knew that she was pretty. I guess I just didn't realize how gorgeous she really was until she was standing right in front of me hitting me over the head with her beauty."_ Harry felt stupid for not realizing how pretty Hermione was before as he thought about how great she looked his mind drifted and started imaging an alternative Yule Ball. Instead of having a crappy night, Harry was holding Hermione as they danced in front of the whole crowd. Gone were the feelings of terror (at the thought of dancing), frustration, and annoyance. Instead all Harry felt was elation at the thought of holding Hermione in his arms. She was his best friend, the one that had always been by his side, the one that had always helped him, talked to him, cared for him, believed in him, and made him happy. _"Hermione" _he thought with a smile.

Harry froze. _"I fancy Hermione. I FANCY HERMIONE."_ Harry's mind reeled as he tried to come to terms with this revelation. He was torn between what to think. _"If I could date her or hold her or kiss her..." _Excitement flooded through him at all of those thoughts but particularly the last one. _"If I told her though and she didn't feel the same way I could end up pushing her away."_ Not even the bite he received from the basilisk was able to compare to the pain he felt at this thought. _"If I lost her...I don't...I don't know what I would do..."_ Pinching the bridge of his nose again Harry knew that he needed to decide what to do. After a bit of thought he decided _"I am not going to tell her...at least right now. Maybe if I can figure out how she feels I will."_

"Harry. Harry. Are you okay?" The beautiful sound of her voice hit his ears. He looked up to see her heading towards him with some toast.

"Yeah Hermione I'm okay. I was just off in my own world for a bit." Harry replied with smile.

"Okay" she smiled back at him as she made her way up next to him. "I noticed you weren't at breakfast so I thought I would bring you some but no one seemed to know where you were. I checked the Quidditch pitch first but you weren't there so I decided to check over here."

"Thanks." He replied while taking the toast she offered him. Even after all of these years it still amazed him how caring she was and how well she knew him. _"How did I not realize how wonderful she was earlier."_ Harry pulled out of his thoughts before he could get too far. Now was not the time to think about that. He needed to apologize for his behavior last night.

"Hermione" Harry started.

"Harry" Hermione said at the same time.

They smiled at each other. "Ladies first" Harry said with a slight bow.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to say that I am sorry for yelling at you last night before we went to bed. It wasn't your fault that Ron was being a prat. He had ruined my night and had me so worked up that I just went off. I know you didn't say anything to agree with him but you didn't look like you were having fun at all last night. Plus any time Viktor was brought up you seemed even more bothered so I thought you were siding with Ron."

"_Was I that obvious?" _Harry thought. Deciding to dwell on it later he decided to make his apology. "Hermione, you don't have to apologize for anything. I understand why you were upset and I'm not mad at you. I am mad at myself for not sticking up for you and at Ron for being such a git. You have every right to go to the ball with whoever you want and I know that you will always be there for me. Can you forgive me?" Harry asked as he stopped and turned to look at her.

Turning to look at him, Hermione replied, "Of course you are forgiven Harry. It wasn't like you started the row and I know you don't like to get involved. Also, I never thought that you would doubt me, but it makes me feel good that you know that I will always be by your side."

"And I will always be there for you Hermione. " Harry replied.

Giving him another dazzling smile she continued on, "So what was wrong last night?"

"I just had a lot of stuff on my mind and with all of the excitement happening I was having a hard time sorting it out." he replied. _"I hope she doesn't push for exact details." _Before she could ask for details he continued, "After thinking about it all morning though, I think I have a good handle on everything."

"Okay" Hermione replied. _"I am just happy that he is happy again. Harry always has to deal with so much crap that he doesn't deserve. He is such a wonderful person and deserves to finally have some happiness." _Hermione knew that she would do anything to help make Harry happy. He was her first and best friend. "Harry if there is anything you want to talk about just let me know. You know that you can always talk to me."

"I know Hermione." He replied with a smile. "If there is anything I will be sure to talk to you."

They continued to walk in silence around the lake just enjoying each other's company. With his feelings solved, for the moment, Harry thought what other challenges lay on the horizon.

"Actually Hermione there is something that I would like to talk to you about." said Harry breaking the silence. _"She is not going to be happy when I tell her that I haven't worked out the clue, but I think it is better to come clean now."_

"What is it Harry?" she asked while turning to look at him.

Harry fidgeted, "Well promise me you won't be mad."

Her eyes narrowed. "Harry..."

"Promise?" he asked again.

"Fine I promise." She said still looking at him suspiciously.

"Well I was wondering if you could help me with my egg? I know I said before that I figured it out but actually Ouch!" he jumped away as she punched him in the shoulder. "You promised you wouldn't be mad."

"I had my fingers crossed you prat!" She said as she raised her arm again.

"Alright alright I give. I'm sorry!" Harry said jumping away.

"Fine" she smirked. "But we are going to get started on this and figure it out. Your not dying on my watch Harry Potter."

"I wouldn't dream of it Hermione" he smiled. "Now, to the library!" With that he started towards the entrance to the school.

Shaking her head at his antics Hermione started after him.

_Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think. _


	2. Weasley Temper Check and a Breakthrough

A/N: Hello everyone. First thank you for all of the great reviews and favoriting/following this story.

I apologize in advance that this might be kind of a long author's note, but I wanted to say a couple of things and ask some questions.

1. I got this chapter done a bit early so I am posting it tonight instead of tomorrow like I had originally planned. As of right now I am planning on trying to upload a new chapter ever week. I already have the next couple of chapters planned out and at the end of this chapter things will start to pick up and continue from there.

2. nikyta: This story will have powerful Hermione. :)

3. Mozez101: I don't plan on turning this into a bash-fic or angst-fest, but I am not saying I won't bash characters if I feel they deserve it. Personally, I am not a fan or Ron or Molly and I think that Dumbledore is manipulative, but I want to focus on Harry/Hermione instead of trying to find every way possible to go off on those characters. Your comment about harems leads me to my next point.

4. Originally I had planned on making this a Harry/multi pairing, but now I don't think I am going to. It wouldn't be the kind of story with Harry and fifty other girls (not that there is anything wrong with those stories but I don't think it would capture what I am going for). No it would be Harry, Hermione, and maybe one or two others. If a bunch of people really do wanna see this turn into Harry/multi I will consider it, but right now I think it will just be Harry/Hermione.

5. I don't own Harry Potter, but my offer still stands from the last chapter.

I apologize again for the long author's note. Now, onto the story!

Chapter 2: Weasley Temper Check and a Breakthrough

It was about three weeks since the Yule Ball had taken place and true to her word Hermione was making sure that they stayed on the task of figuring out the egg. Throughout the rest of winter break Harry and Hermione had spent most of their time in the library researching what could be making the wailing sound. Unfortunately, there were not a whole lot of books on the different wails that animals made. At one point they thought they had made a breakthrough when they stumbled upon a book called _Wails of the Woebegotten_, but in order to use the book they had to learn the _Ausension_ spell. Every page of the book had a sound stored in it and by using this spell they would be able to hear the sound in their head. The spell was easy enough to learn, but after trying several different pages they decided to give up. They were both starting to get headaches and there didn't seem to be a difference in any of the sounds. From there they decided to focus on a way to decipher the sound.

Ron had occasionally joined them, but for the most part he was not around to help them. His initial distance from the pair was due to the row that had occurred the night of Harry and Hermione's walk around the lake. Ron was still in a foul mood and decided to start in on Hermione again as soon as they entered the common room, but this time Harry did not let it happen.

/**** Flashback ****/

"Harry, I think we should start by looking at the outside of the egg to see if there are any markings we might have missed. If we see anything it might give us a clue to understanding the egg," said Hermione as they made their way through the portrait hole.

"Okay, I will go upstairs right now and" Harry started to say, but never finished.

"Get away from Harry you traitor!" came a shout. Shocked, both of them spun to see who was yelling at them.

Looking directly at Harry, Ron said, "Harry what are you doing hanging around with her?" Not waiting for an answer he turned to look at Hermione. "And you! Last night you were all chummy with Krum and ready to betray us. Is he so bored of you already that you had to try and befriend us again?"

Harry snapped out of his shock as Ron had continue talking and turned to look at Hermione. What he saw made his heart break. With every accusation that Ron threw at Hermione, she was hurt even more. Her face flew from being shocked to angry as he talked about her being with Krum. At the mention of betrayal she went from angry to hurt so fast it appeared she had been stabbed. Finally, as her mind registered Ron's last point, Harry watched Hermione crumble in front of him and he knew exactly why. The look she wore was one that he had seen plenty of times growing up. It was the look of knowing that no one wanted you and that you didn't belong. He knew it, because before he came to Hogwarts it was the look he always saw when he looked into the mirror.

In that split second Harry became more angry than he had ever been before. No one had a right to make Hermione feel like that, especially Ron. Hermione was the most wonderful, caring, and loving person that Harry knew. He didn't care if his friendship with Ron was still being repaired since Ron had turned his back on him, he would protect Hermione. He would always protect her, even with his life if he had too.

As Harry made this vow he felt a slight twinge in his body and his magic gave a slight pulse. He hardly noticed though because he was starting in on Ron.

"SHUT UP RIGHT NOW RON! How dare you talk about Hermione like that. Hermione has done nothing wrong. It's her choice to go to the ball with whoever she wants," Harry shouted as he stepped directly in front of Hermione so he could put himself between the two.

"But Harry she was with Krum and she," Ron started to reply.

"I DONT CARE WHO SHE WENT WITH," Harry yelled back.

The common room had gone deathly silent. No one had ever seen Harry this mad before.

Before Ron or anyone else could say anything Harry continued, "Hermione is a wonderful person and gorgeous on top of that. How could you expect anyone to not want to go to the ball with her? Beyond that how you can accuse her of betraying me at all. When my name came out of the Goblet of Fire who was by my side? Hermione. Where were you Ron? Oh yeah, you were off believing that I had entered myself in this tournament and calling me a cheat. I know without a doubt that Hermione would never do that or betray me in any other way. She is kind, caring, loyal, and the most wonderful person I have ever known and I know that she will always be there for me. If you ever say something like that about her again I will call you out for a duel."

When he had finished Harry noticed that the entire common room was just staring at the scene in shock. When he realized that no one was going to say anything he turned around to look at Hermione. He could see that she was shocked at his outburst, but there was a look of gratitude on her face and a hint of something else that he couldn't quite place. Deciding that they should probably leave, Harry pulled out his wand.

"_Accio_ Egg"

A second later a door crashed open and the egg flew down the stairs and into his hands. "Let's find another place to work on this shall we," he said giving Hermione a small smile. She nodded and together they headed back out of the portrait hole without another word.

/**** End of Flashback ****/

With most of the school still in the castle over winter break the news of the fight between Ron and Harry had spread quickly. Like usual though, there were a wide variety of stories. The stories had started with the truth of it being just a simple shouting match, but by the end of the second day people were saying that Harry had come to Hermione's aid by summoning the Hungarian Horntail from the first task. Regardless of which story people heard or believed, there was a common consensus that Ron had gone too far. This feeling was particularly strong with the women of the castle who agreed with Harry's statement that Hermione had every right to go to the ball with whoever she wanted. Ron had wisely kept his mouth shut and avoided most of the school for over a week. After being shunned for over a week though Ron came to his senses and apologized to both of them.

/**** Flashback ****/

Harry and Hermione were sitting at their table in the common room when Ron approached them.

"Hey. Can I talk to you guys for a minute?" asked Ron tentatively.

Hermione continued reading as if she hadn't heard him, but Harry looked up and replied with a simple, "What".

"I just wanted to apologize for how I acted during the Yule Ball and the other night. Harry you were completely right. I had no right to accuse Hermione of those things. I know that I have betrayed you in the past and I know that is something Hermione would never do. She has always stayed by you even when everyone turned their back on you. That is what I should have done and I'm sorry that I didn't." As he finished Hermione looked up from her book. He turned to her and continued, "Hermione I'm sorry for all of the things I said. I know that I don't have a say in who you dance with or who you date or anything like that. It's just hard because I see you like I see Ginny and my brotherly instincts kick in. I just want you to both know how sorry I am for the things I said and did, and I hope that you can forgive me."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and after a couple of seconds they turned back to Ron.

"I forgive you Ron, but it will take some time," Hermione said. "You said some very hurtful things to me and even though I know that you're sorry it will take time to get over that." At this Ron just nodded to show that he understood.

"And don't ever let it happen again. I forgive you Ron and your still my mate, but if you ever do that again I will make good on my promise," added Harry.

With Ron's final nod of understanding Hermione started, "So Ron we were just thinking about going to the library. Do you wanna come with us?"

"OOOOHHH Hermione..." with a smack Ron put his head down on the table. Harry started laughing and Hermione just grinned.

/**** End of Flashback ****/

Although the trio was back together Ron still couldn't stand to be in the library too much. He would attempt to help as often as he could, but once the groans started they excused him from his task.

Currently, both Harry and Hermione were sitting in the library trying to find any way to decipher the egg. Unlike most days though, Harry could not focus on the task at hand. "_I wonder how the other champions are doing on their eggs. It is still early in January so maybe they haven't even started working on it yet. None of them have really seemed nervous like they did before the first task. Either they don't know yet or its really easy."_

"Harry is everything alright," asked Hermione.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry I was just wondering how the other champions are doing on working out the clue in the egg." he replied as he was pulled out of his thoughts.

"Don't worry we will figure it out. We always do." she said smiling at him.

With a smile Harry replied, "I know." Hermione turned back to her book and the notes she was working on, but Harry continued to look at her. _"There she is being my rock again. I wouldn't be here today without her by my side. If only she knew that she means the world to me." _Reluctantly, Harry tore his gaze away and went back to reading.

_/*********************************************************************************/_

Harry wasn't the only one that was having trouble concentrating lately. Ever since the night that Harry had stood up for her, Hermione had been mulling over what Harry had said. "_Harry said that I was gorgeous. No one has ever told me that I am gorgeous, they have always said things like cute or pretty, and most of the time those compliments came from my parents. Even Viktor only told me that I looked nice when I was with him at the ball. I wonder if the only reason Harry said I was gorgeous was because I was dressed up. Hmmm." _Hermione wondered, but then another voice in her head responded._ Even if he did only think you was gorgeous because of how you looked at the ball he still thought you were gorgeous." _This made her feel warm all over. She had never really thought that Harry was as slow on the uptake about her being a girl as Ron was, but if he was commenting on her looks then she knew he saw her as a girl.

Harry comments had gone beyond just talking about her looks though, he had also told everyone just what he thought of her. _"He thinks I'm kind, caring, and loyal" _knowing this made Hermione just as happy as the compliment Harry had paid her about her looks. She had always feared that Harry thought she was being pushy or nosy, but now she knew otherwise. His final compliment though was the one she was really stuck on. _"What did he mean when he called me wonderful? Did he say just say that __because of everything else or was there something else that he didn't want to share?" _

Over the past several weeks she had gone over and over what Harry had said, but she had never been able to decide what he could have meant. Now though, she thought about everything that had happened since their walk. _"Harry stood up for me and not just to anyone, but he did it to Ron. Their friendship hasn't been that great this year, but Ron is still Harry's first friend and for him to do that was amazing. Then there is the fact that he said all of those great things about me and called me gorgeous,"_ Hermione smiled again. _"Also, he has been spending a lot more time with me and being really sweet by offering to carry my bag. Finally, he has actually stayed focused on the upcoming task and his homework." _

Now that she had looked at all of these things together, the answer seemed quite obvious. Harry's "wonderful" implied that he thought something about her that he was not saying and whatever had brought about this change also changed how he was acting. _"Not that I'm going to argue with the changes,"_ she thought happily. Hermione could only come up with one explanation for everything.

"_Harry fancies me!" _As soon as this conclusion hit her, she was giddy with happiness. Ever since the end of her first year she had a crush on Harry, and as the years went on her feelings only seemed to get stronger. _How could I not like him? He has risked his life to save me and everyone else, has always been a great friend to me, and what other guy would sit by your bed, hold your hand, and talk to you every night while you were petrified?" _she thought._ "He has also become quite handsome and his body looks great from the tournament and all the quidditch he has played." _As Hermione rode her emotional high a new question arose that made gave her pause, _"How can I really know if he fancies me though? I can't just ask him...hmmm I will have to give this more thought."_

_/********************************************************************************/_

After a couple more hours searching through books in the library Harry and Hermione decided to head back to the common room. Just as they reached the top of the first staircase, Harry heard someone calling his name from below.

"Harry. Hey Harry."

Harry turned around to see Cedric standing on the first step looking up at him. "Hey Cedric. What's up?" he replied.

"Can you come down here for a minute? I have something I need to discuss with you," responded Cedric.

Harry looked at Hermione and she answered his unspoken question, "It's fine Harry. I'll just wait here until you get back. Here, give me the bags so you don't have to carry them up the stairs again."

Harry handed her the bags and quickly descended the stairs until he was in front of Cedric. "What's going on," he asked.

"Have you figured out your egg yet?" asked Cedric.

"No, not yet. We have been working on it, but so far we haven't been able to discover anything," replied Harry.

"Well I will give you some advice. Take a bath with your egg, you know, to mull things over. Trust me it will help. Actually use the prefect's bathroom. It's a lot bigger and I think it will make sorting out your thoughts a lot easier. The password is pinefresh." he said in a hushed tone. He smiled and then continued in a normal voice, "Well I hope we get to play quidditch again sometime Harry. I was really looking forward to playing you this year. See you around." With that he turned and walked down the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff dormitory.

Harry turned around to walk back up to Hermione, but as he did so he missed the wooden leg disappearing from view only a few feet behind Cedric. He only made it up three steps when he was stopped by another voice.

"Well if it isn't Potty," drawled Malfoy as he strode into the corridor from the direction of the dungeons.

"Shove off Malfoy," Harry replied and he continued up the stairs.

"Well Potter, I would be careful not to let other people see you talking to Diggory. They might let him on to your plan to sabatoge his chances in the tournament. Not that he really needs to worry about any competition from you," Malfoy continued.

Harry turned to tell Malfoy off, but then Hermione started from above him, "Get lost Malfoy. Come on Harry we have more important things to worry about than the ferret."

"Quiet you filthy mudblood! Your words aren't fit to touch my ears," Malfoy snapped back.

As soon as Malfoy had started insulting Hermione, Harry's protectiveness kicked in. He felt another twinge near his heart, but this one was stronger than what he felt when he was angry with Ron. At this same moment, Harry's magic flared and he felt stronger than he ever had before. "Malfoy, don't ever insult Hermione again, or I swear Dumbledore won't even be able to save you from what I will do to you," Harry stated.

After not getting any response from Malfoy, except for a startled stare, Harry turned and started back up towards Hermione. What he didn't know though, was that Malfoy wasn't bothered by his words. No, it was how Harry's eyes had blazed as he made his threat.

"Harry, you know I can protect myself from Malfoy and besides he is not worth it," Hermione said as he reached the top of the stairs.

Taking both of their bags Harry responded, "I know you can protect yourself. Actually you could probably kick his arse better than I could." This caused her to grin. "I am just sick of him insulting you and I won't stand for it any longer. If he continues with it he will regret it."

Smiling at his concern she switched to her other question, "So what did Cedric want?"

"Oh. He wanted to know if I had worked out the egg yet. When I told him no, he told me to take a bath with the egg," said Harry.

"He told you to take a bath with it," asked Hermione with a bewildered expression.

"Yeah. He seemed to think that doing so would make things easier. Also, he gave me the password to the prefect's bathroom so that I would have an easier time figuring it out."

"He gave you the password the prefect's bathroom," asked Hermione with wide eyes. _"I thought I would have to wait until next year before I could hope to see it. Maybe Harry will tell me so that I can use it."_

"Yeah. Is it that big of a deal," Harry questioned.

"Well I have never been in there so I don't know for sure, but according to _Hogwarts: A History_ it is one of the nicest bathrooms in the whole school. The only two that are considered to be better are the Headmaster's bathroom and the bathroom shared by the Head Boy and Girl," she answered.

"Okay. Well I hope that it will help us figure this out so that I can be prepared for the next task," said Harry looking hopeful.

"I hope so too Harry," responded Hermione. As she continued to think about what a breakthrough they might have just made, another idea struck her. "How about if I come with you and I can help you work out the egg."

Everything else on Harry's mind was immediately replaced a new train of thought, _"Hermione...in the bathroom...with me...Hermione, in the bathroom, with me, but...but bathrooms imply being naked and Hermione would be with me so that would mean that she would be naked. Surely she couldn't mean that, could she?Not that I wouldn't want to see her naked. In fact I would very much like too." _At this thought Harry started to blush.

"Everything okay Harry," asked Hermione.

At the sound of her voice Harry snapped out of his thoughts and realized that he had stopped walking. "Huh? Oh...I was just...uh...well not that I don't want your help, but uh...wouldn't we both be, you know...naked together if you came along," he stammered to get out and then blushed even deeper.

Observant as always, Hermione did not miss his dazed look and the fact that he was blushing._ "Yes!"_ His reaction seemed to be proving her correct, but she wasn't ready to say that she was certain yet. Deciding to let him off the hook for now she responded, "Well I was just thinking we could wear our swim suits."

"Oh of course," said Harry. _"How did I not think of that?"_ He smiled at her and continued, "Sure Hermione, I would love it if you came and helped me."

"Okay," she responded happily. _"If he reacted that strongly before I can't wait to see his reaction when he sees what I have in store for him,"_ she thought while fighting to contain her grin. _"Soon I will know how you feel about me Mr. Potter."_

Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought.


	3. Save Water, Solve the Egg Together

A/N: Hello everyone. It's a new week and it is time again for a new chapter of Emerald Bindings, but first I want to say a couple of things.

1. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and/or review my story. Reading your reviews and also just knowing that people out there are reading what I write is very encouraging and makes me very happy.

2. I just want to say again that if you don't like my story then please don't read it. No one is forcing you to read it and leaving bashing comments under an anonymous name doesn't make anyone happy. If you really feel you need to make these kind of comments please sign in so that I can respond, but if you really hate it that much why are you reading it? If you feel that you have something to offer as constructive criticism please let me know and I will definitely consider it.

3. After hearing many opinions and thinking more on it myself, I have decided that this will be a Harry/Hermione only story. Harmony forever!

4. I am on vacation right now so I don't know if I will have the next chapter up exactly a week from now, but I will try to put it up as soon as I can. This chapter is pretty long so I hope that helps tide everyone over until I can get another one posted.

5. I don't own Harry Potter or anyone else from that universe.

Chapter 3: Save Water, Solve the Egg Together

After discussing what Cedric had told them on Sunday night they decided that it was best to wait until Friday to go to the bathroom and try to solve the clue. That way if it took a long time to solve they wouldn't have to get up early the next morning to go to class. It was the longest week that either of them had ever experienced.

All week Hermione had been making plans. For the most part these plans had centered on how she could get a reaction out of Harry. She did feel a bit guilty at first about not focusing on what they were going to do with the egg in the bathroom, but then she reasoned that there really wasn't much she could do to solve the egg until it gave up its clue. Now it was nearly time to go and she was having a hard time concentrating.

Harry had been looking forward to this night as well. For one, they were finally going to make progress on the egg; at least he hoped they would make some progress. Another reason he was excited though, was that he was going to get to spend some alone time with Hermione. Their current adventure also had the added bonus that she would be in her swimsuit the whole time. Whenever Harry thought about this great bonus he had to remind himself that Hermione did not know his feelings for him, and because of this he would have to control his reactions around her.

Finally, as it was growing late on Friday night, the last student went up to bed. Ron had gone to bed unusually early, most likely due to him going back for seventh helpings of food. As Harry heard the dormitory door close he turned to Hermione and asked, "Are you ready to go Hermione?"

"Yes Harry. Do you have everything we need," she replied happily. _"Yes! Yes! Finally, it's time to go."_

"Yup. I have the cloak, the map, the egg, and my swim trunks in my bag. Do you want to put your stuff in my bag too," he asked.

"No that's fine. I already had everything packed so that we could go right away," said Hermione as she stood up and grabbed her bag. _"Besides, we wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now would we?"_

"Okay. Let me just get the cloak out and check the map," said Harry pulling the cloak and map from his bag. Setting the map on the table he tapped it with his wand while speaking, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"_That statement just might be true by the end of the night if I have anything say about it," _thought Hermione.

"The coast is clear for now. Mischief managed," he said tapping the map.

After stowing the map, they both made their way over to the portrait hole where Harry through the cloak over both of them. Pushing the portrait hole open they both quickly made their way over the threshold. The fat lady excitedly asked, "Who's there?" but neither of them replied.

As they made their way to the prefect's bathroom, Harry realized how close he was to Hermione and how much they were touching. They had both grown quite a bit in the last couple years and in order to stay hidden they had to stay close to one another. Although he was immensely enjoying the contact he didn't know if she was so he reluctantly tried not to rub against her if he could help it. On this night though, luck was not with Harry in his endeavor. About halfway to the prefect's bathroom they heard an angry cry from Filch.

"Ouch! Damn suit of armor," swore Filch. "What the hell are you doing in the middle of the hallway? I bet it was those Weasley twins again. I can see them now. "Oh yes, let's get Filch because he doesn't have a wand. We will put this suit of armor in the middle of the hallway and steal all of his lanterns so that he can walk into it," he said in a voice that strangely sounded like George Weasley.

Upon hearing Filch's angry cry, Hermione had frozen where she was standing. Harry, who was walking right behind her, froze just a second later and instinctively put his arms around her ready to pull her out of the way if needed. Once they figured out that it was only Filch they both relaxed.

"_Mmmm this feels good," _thought Harry not really wanting to move. It was only then that he realized that he was pressed right up against Hermione's bum. With a mental _"Oh crap,"_ Harry went bright red and tried to move his body away without letting her know.

Hermione had realized their position at the same time as Harry, and when he tried to move away she wasn't going to make it easy. Assuming that Harry would think that she was still on edge from Filch's cry she backed up into him keeping as much contact as possible. Immediately she felt Harry's body stiffen and a low growl come from him which made her grin.

It took all of Harry's willpower not to thrust into her as she pushed back against him. _"If she keeps this up she is going to be the death of__ me,"_ thought Harry.

"_I suppose I have tortured him enough...at least for now," _Hermione thought wickedly. "Ready to go Harry," she whispered.

"Yes," came his whispered response through gritted teeth. With that they set off for the bathroom again and didn't encounter any other problems along the way.

When they reached the fourth door to the left of Boris the Bewildered, Hermione quickly whispered, "Pine fresh." The door immediately swung open for them and they both walked through.

"Wow," came both of them at the same time.

Harry had expected the bathroom to be nice after the description that Hermione gave him, but this was unbelievable.

In the center of the room was a huge swimming pool, but judging from the taps all along the edges it was a giant bathtub. Looking to his right, Harry noticed that there was a doorway leading away from their current area, which he guessed was where the toilets were. On the left side of the room there appeared to be several showers for prefects to use instead of taking a bath. Behind them, on either side of the door they had just come through, were racks of towels that they could use once they had finished tonight. Finally, at the other end of the bathroom was a large painting of mermaid sunning herself on a rock.

Hermione was just as shocked by the appearance of the room as Harry was. _"I so hope that I get to be a prefect next year! Just being able to use this bathroom would be a good enough reason,"_ she thought.

Snapping out of her shock Hermione turned around and locked the door. At Harry's questioning gaze she added, "We don't want anyone to know that we are in here and I don't really want anyone to bother us while we work."

"Good thinking," replied Harry with a smile.

"Well let's start filling the pool and then we will go get changed," said Hermione putting down her bag and starting towards the pool. Obediently, Harry put down his bag and followed after her.

Filling the pool turned out to be a lot more fun than they had ever imagined. Every one of the taps gushed out a different type of bubble bath mixed with water. There was a bright pink one that both of them thought smelled so wonderful that they couldn't get enough of it. To each of them it reminded them of the other. Another tap sent out an ice blue bubble bath with little puffs of white in them. When it touched the water the puffs of white became small boats that sailed on the water before finally dissolving. Hermione found a tap that sent out thick heavy foam and once she saw that Harry was distracted she gathered up a bunch of the foam and put it on top of his head. He turned around to see her scrutinizing him.

"Hmm, no I don't really think a crown suits you Mr. Potter," she said. Holding up the mirror she had conjured up so he could see.

Once Harry saw the mound of foam on his head he responded, "I don't know my fair lady. I think I look quite good." He then tried to strike a dashing pose, but the lopsided grin ruined the moment. Hermione started giggling at his attempt and Harry quickly started laughing.

"Well, my king, I think it's time that we got changed so that we can start working on the egg," she said once she had calmed down.

"Absolutely, my queen," he said with a bow.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "I will go into the toilets to change into my suit and you can change out here."

"Sounds good," Harry responded as they both walked over to their bags.

"Feel free to get in as soon as you get changed. It might take me a bit longer to get ready," said Hermione walking through the door to the toilets.

"Okay," he replied. As soon as Hermione was out of sight Harry started changing into his swim trunks. Once he had them on he pulled the egg out of his bag and replaced it with his clothes. _"I think I will wait for Hermione before trying to __tackle the egg," _he thought. Walking over to the edge of the pool, Harry set the egg down and then dived into the water. The water felt great and he decided to do a couple of laps. On one of his return trips he heard Hermione speak.

"How's the water," she asked.

Harry looked up just as he made it into shallower water. It was good that he waited that long, otherwise he probably would have drowned. He could hardly breathe as his eyes raked over her body. Hermione was standing on the edge of the pool wearing her knickers and bra. Once he got past the amount of clothing she was wearing, or wasn't wearing, he noticed just how great her body looked. As he made his way up her body he thought, _"Her legs look so smooth and they are very toned. Probably from carryi__ng around all those books." _Continuing his journey he took in her slightly curvy hips as they led upwards to her flat stomach, and eventually to her breasts. _"Hogwarts robes really don't do her body justice,"_ he thought. Finally, his eyes made it up her beautiful face. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, which allowed him to easily see the slight blush that had developed under his gaze, but what captivated him the most was her wonderful smile and her dazzling eyes.

Hermione was enthralled with the effect she was having on Harry. Ever since he had looked up at her he had done nothing but stare openmouthed. _"I think I might have broke him," _she thought happily. "Like what you see Harry," she asked coyly.

As her question penetrated his brain, Harry realized that he was staring and started to blush. "Sorry Hermione. I didn't mean...I mean you look, uh. Sorry...I didn't mean to stare at you in your knickers and make you feel uncomfortable," he replied quickly averting his gaze.

Hermione smiled at his embarrassment, _"Shrinking my bikini definitely paid off. He is so cute when he is flustered."_ The last thing he said though left her confused. "What did you mean by seeing me in my knickers Harry," she asked looking down to see what he meant.

"Well, uh, aren't those your knickers and bra," he said gesturing to the only items she was wearing. _ "Aunt Petunia had a frilly suit that covered most of her body. She wouldn't have been caught dead in something this revealing."_ He mentally cringed at the thought of Aunt Petunia in anything similar. He was able to quickly rid himself of these thoughts by focusing on the sexy witch before him.

Catching on to what was confusing him, Hermione replied, "No Harry, this is a bikini. It's another kind of swimsuit that women wear."As she was explaining this she slowly made her way to the end of the pool and started walking down the steps.

Noticing how closely the bikini clung to her and showed off her body, Harry decided that whoever had invented this type of swimsuit was a genius. "Oh, well I like seeing you in a bikini." It spilled out of his mouth before he could contain it. _"Oh crap. What is she going to think now?"_

To his relief she just giggled and replied, "Well thank you Harry. I'm going to do a lap to loosen up a bit."

"Okay, let me get the egg," Harry said trying to tear his gaze away from her. Finally, he started moving towards the edge where the egg was sitting.

It turns out that Hermione was a fast swimmer and by the time Harry made it to the egg she was already almost done. As Harry picked up the egg and turned around she popped up right in front of him. This simple action had the unintended effect of 'breaking Harry' again.

As she came out of the water all Harry could do is stare. Up close she was even sexier than he had thought before and her bikini seemed to cling to even more now that it was wet. His eyes followed a droplet of water as it slid from her shoulder down between her breasts. "Wow," he whispered as he took the sight before him in. Realizing that he had said that aloud, Harry started blushing and became aware of how tight his swim trunks were.

Grinning wickedly at this new turn of events Hermione decided to press him. Moving closer to him she asked innocently, "So, Harry, you like it when I'm all wet?"

Whatever reply Harry would have attempted was lost, because her words also caused him to drop the egg. On instinct he went after it, but he couldn't get a good hold on it as it continued to sink. He managed to grab the clasp at the top, but as he pulled the clasp spun and the egg opened up. Instead incoherent wailing, he heard words that he recognized.

"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. While your searching ponder this," came the voice.

By this point Harry needed air. _"I also need to tell Hermione," _he thought. Popping up out of the water he said, "Hermione, you need to hear this."

While Harry had been down in the water Hermione had been thinking, _"Yes! This has gone better than I ever could hav__e hoped. Should I just tell him how I feel or should I let him do it?"_ Any further thought on this subject came to a halt when Harry came out of the water telling her she needed to hear something. "What's going on Harry," she asked concerned.

"Just come under the water with me. The egg doesn't wail underwater. It actually makes sense," he responded.

With a shocked expression she nodded. Taking a gulp of air she followed Harry underwater. As soon as she was underwater she heard, "Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. While your searching ponder this, we've taken what you'll surely miss. An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we've took. Past an hour the prospects black. To late, its gone, it won't come back." Turning to Harry, she pointed towards the surface and then swam up.

"I can't believe that all we had to do this whole time is hold it underwater," she said in an annoyed tone.

"I know," replied Harry. "At least now we know what the clue is though."

"True. Let's go listen to it a couple more times and then we can discuss it," said Hermione.

After listening to the egg three more times they had memorized the whole clue. Returning to the surface, Harry put the egg on the edge of the pool and Hermione started speaking.

"Okay, let's see if we can break this clue down. I think that the last three sentences are the most obvious," she said.

Harry's mind raced over the last three sentences, _"An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we've took. Past an hour t__he prospects black. To late, its gone, it won't come back." _"I have an hour to get back whatever they took. If I don't do it in an hour then it is lost forever," he agreed.

"Exactly, but where would you have to go in order to get whatever they take? I think it would have to be on the grounds, because I don't think they are going to transport the entire school to another location for the task. Unless..." she trailed off into thought.

"Well we have explored most of the immediate area around the castle so where could they go," Harry wondered aloud. "We have the castle, the quidditch pitch, and the forbidden forest, but all of them are above ground. The only other thing on the grounds is the," Harry's musing stopped and he whipped around to look at the egg. He then looked down and then back up at Hermione who was still deep in thought. "Hermione, I have to go into the black lake!"

Harry's words caused everything to fall into place for Hermione. "Harry your right. How did I not see that before? The egg can only be heard in water and the only place on the grounds with a lot of water is the black lake. What in the black lake would take your stuff though," she asked.

"I don't know. The only thing I know that is in the black lake is the giant squid," replied Harry.

Hermione thought back to _Hogwarts: A History,_ _"What lives in the black lake? Well the giant squid, but I don't think anyone could talk it into cooperating with a tournament. Grindylows? No, they would be even worse than the squid. Hmmm what about..." _"Merpeople!" she shouted.

Harry jumped at her shout. "What are you talking about Hermione," he asked.

"Merpeople. They live in the black lake and they are going to be the ones who will take what you will surely miss. Since they live in water they can only speak normally while they are underwater. Also, they are on good terms with the school due to a treaty signed in 1643. It all fits Harry," she said.

Now that she had explained it the whole idea made sense. "Okay, so the merpeople are going to take something of mine and I have to go into the lake and get it back. I have an hour to do this otherwise it's gone forever. That all makes sense, but how am I going to survive underwater for an hour," he asked.

"I don't know Harry, but we will figure something out. They wouldn't set a task that couldn't be done," she said giving him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Hermione," he said smiling back. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would set the world on fire with your amazing quidditch skills because you wouldn't have a bossy friend telling you to do your homework," she said dramatically.

Harry grinned, "But then I would be missing out on knowing the most wonderful girl in the world." As soon as he said this something clicked, _"We will take what you will__ surely miss. What I would miss more than anything in the world is Hermione!"_ Harry's grin faltered for a second before he recovered, _"No, they wouldn't take a person, would they? Should I say something to Hermione? No probably not. I'm probably just being__ paranoid again."_ He didn't really know how far they would go, but he was certain of one thing, _"They won't get Hermione."_

Beaming, Hermione closed the distance between them and wrapped him in one of her patented 'Hermione Hugs'. She felt him stiffen at the initial contact, but slowly he relaxed into her arms before bringing his arms up to return the hug. The hug he gave her in return was different though, in the past when he returned her hugs it was very tentative and like he didn't know how to express his emotions through them. Now though, it was full of the same warmth, caring, and love that she poured into her own hugs for him. "You're so wonderful Harry Potter. I couldn't imagine my life without you," she said.

Initially the contact from the hug caused him to freeze up, but slowly he was able to relax. Through their contact he felt how much she cared for him. Harry reveled in this feeling. It always made him feel loved and had helped him through some of the toughest times in his life. Wanting Hermione to know just how much she meant to him, he hugged her back and tried to pour all of his emotions for her into that hug. When he heard her words he smiled and gave her a quick tight squeeze let her know he heard her.

Reluctantly they pulled apart from the hug until they were barely apart.

Hermione was falling into the pools of bright emerald that were Harry's eyes. Countless times she had started to get lost in his eyes, but she had never had such a good opportunity as she did right now. Everything he felt for her was laid bare and in that moment Hermione confirmed what she had been trying to find out, _"He does have feelings for me and they are just as deep as mine."_

Staring back, Harry was mesmerized by her eyes. They were a deeper brown that was flecked with gold, but they shown with such a brightness that was Hermione. The passion to learn, to care about house elf rights, to care about him, all shown brilliantly in her eyes. At that moment, Harry wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but before acting on impulse his brain kicked in, _"Should I? What if she doesn't feel that way? What if..." _At this point another voice in his mind responded, _"What if, what if, what if. If all you ever do is question yourself you will never find out."_ With a mental nod Harry agreed, he was a Gryffindor, and everything about the idea of kissing her seemed so right. Yes, it could go bad but he had to try. With this resolve Harry closed his eyes and was about to start moving towards Hermione.

"HIYA HARRY," came a shout.

Both teens jumped at the sound and looked wildly around for the source of the noise. It was Moaning Myrtle. Both of their faces flashed with a range of emotions at the interruption to their intimate moment. However, the moment required a response and Harry was the first to recover.

"Hi Myrtle," he replied unenthusiastically.

"What are you two doing here," she asked.

"We were working on trying to figure out the clue in my egg. We figured it out a bit ago so we decided to relax a bit before heading back to our dorm," he answered.

"Darn. If only I had come sooner I would have been able to help Harry. I watched Diggory work on his egg," she said growing more opaque. Harry had the distinct impression that she was blushing or would be if she wasn't a ghost.

Hermione had finally recovered and was waiting to give her own input, "Well we were more than capable ourselves Myrtle. Harry and I have worked out the clue and Harry has a very good idea what needs to be done."

Although this wasn't entirely true, Harry felt that Hermione did not care too much for Myrtle's comment and wanted to show her who had helped him.

When Myrtle didn't respond Hermione continued, "What time is it anyway?" She turned around to look at the clock on the wall. "Harry, it's almost two in the morning. We should probably head back to Gryffindor tower."

"Yeah, you're probably right," he responded though he really wanted to stay in the pool with her.

Reluctantly, they climbed out of the pool, dried off, and changed back into their clothes. The whole time Myrtle continued to float around watching them. When Harry was going to change he tried to make Myrtle leave, but she refused. Finally, after a ten minute debate over the rights of ghosts, he was able to get her to agree to turn around and cover her eyes. Hermione was not thrilled about allowing Myrtle to even be in the same room, but since she didn't know any hexes that worked on ghosts she couldn't do anything.

Once they were dressed and had gathered all of their stuff, Harry checked the map. Almost all of the teachers were in their quarters.

"Ready," he asked.

"Yup," she replied simply.

"Goodbye Myrtle," they both called as they slipped beneath the cloak.

"Goodbye and Harry your always welcome to visit my toilet," she said as she dove through the floor.

Silently the door to the prefect's bathroom opened and moments later it closed again.

Hundreds of miles away, in an old ivy covered manor, a squat balding man walked towards the chair facing away from him. When he was only a few feet away he got down onto both of his knees.

/-/

"M-M-Master, Crouch has come to see you. S-Should I let him in," asked the man.

A high cold voice replied, "Yes, Wormtail. Show him in."

Moving quickly, the man called Wormtail moved back to the door he had entered through and gestured for someone to come into the room. A moment later a wild eyed man entered the room and moved towards the chair. Kneeling he said, "My lord."

"Wormtail, turn me around so I can see," hissed the cold voice.

Scurrying across the room, Wormtail hastily did as he was told. In the chair was a blackened, frail homunculus that was propped up only by the back of the chair.

"You have done well my faithful servant," said the creature. "Why is it that you have come here today?"

Crouch's head twitched and his tongue flicked out of his mouth before he replied, "My lord. I have some concerns about the plan."

"You think Lord Voldemort's plan isn't good enough Crouch?"

"N-No master it is not that. I have just noticed some things about the Potter boy that might cause problems," Crouch rushed to get out.

Voldemort paused before asking, "What have you noticed Crouch?"

"I have noticed, my lord, that Potter is extremely noble. He is constantly praising his friends, the mudblood and the blood-traitor, for what they have accomplished. Also, before the first task he found out that the other Hogwarts' champion was the only champion that did not know what was coming in the task. In his deluded sense of fairness he told the other champion what they would be facing in the upcoming task. I believe that this was how the Diggory boy was able to come through the first task as well as he did. I thought this might be a onetime event, but last week I overheard Potter and Diggory talking about how to solve the clue in the egg. My worry, my lord, is that Potter's nobility will come out in the final task and that he will let another champion take the cup," explained Crouch.

"Very good. I have heard of Potter's nobility and I was counting on the other champion's sharing the cup with him if this nobility came through," hissed Voldemort. "However, you might be right in suggesting that we remove any obstacles that would prevent him from making it to the graveyard." After a minute of silence Voldemort continued, "Ahh yes. This is what we are going to do..."

/-/

The day after Harry and Hermione's expedition to the prefect's bathroom, they had told Ron about the clue in the egg. Knowing that Ron would be upset that he had not been included, they decided not to tell him that Hermione had helped Harry. Since then all three of them had been in the library every moment that they could spare, trying to find a way for Harry to survive underwater for an hour. So far though, they had not been able to come up with anything useful. Now it was the day before the second task and Harry was in full panic mode.

"_We need to find something. I have to have a plan incase...incase...incase they take Hermione,"_ Harry managed to think. _"If they don't take her I don't __care. I'll go down to the lake, send up red sparks, give up, and let them keep whatever they took. If they take her though I have to get her back."_

Over the past couple weeks Harry had gone over these thoughts countless times. At first he had brushed it off because he didn't think that they would take people, but the closer they got to the task the more the thoughts came to mind and the more he worried.

Another, happier, set of thoughts that had also been on Harry's mind since their trip to the bathroom. These thoughts concerned what to do about the situation with Hermione. Since their expedition he felt like they were closer than ever before. There were also little things that kept happening such as their hands or legs brushing when they were walking or sitting near one another. Harry had been nervous about Hermione's reaction the first couple times this happened even though it was an accident. His worry was unfounded though because she wasn't bothered at all and actually seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was. These new developments along with Harry's resolve to kiss Hermione when they were in the bathroom led him to one thought, _"As soon as the task is over I'm going to tell her."_

At this moment Hermione was frustrated, annoyed, and worried sick. _"We__ have less than a day. LESS THAN A DAY! I need to find something to help Harry. I have never failed him before and I can't now. Damnit, somewhere in here there has to be one bloody book that will tell us how someone can survive underwater,"_ she thought. _"I__ just want to get this task over with so that I can go back to moving things along with Harry." _Although she thought her actions in the bathroom had started to get through to Harry how she felt, she knew that growing up with the Dursleys had not exactly given him the best role models on how people express affection for one another. She resolved to keep letting him know how she felt. She had started by brushing her hand against his and looking for his reaction. At first he seemed startled and nervous, but once she gave him a smile he relaxed. From that point on he had become more comfortable with her touches. _"Lately he has even been initiating the contact,"_ she thought happily. Of course, as they had gotten to closer to the second task both of them had gotten more frantic in their worrying and this had not helped things along. _"It will be over soon. I just need to keep him alive," _this renewed her determination and she started in on another book.

After another hour Harry said, "Well its almost dinner. Should we head to the Great Hall?"

"Yes! I'm starving," replied Ron loudly

"Shh. You're going to get us kicked out," Hermione hissed. Moments later Madam Pince came around the corner glaring at them.

They quickly gathered all of their books and made their way to the Great Hall. All of them started eating rather quickly without talking. Harry and Hermione were both anxious to get back to the library, and Ron just wanted to eat as much as possible. Halfway through dinner Professor McGonagall approached them, but they were all so lost in their own thoughts they didn't see her coming.

"Weasley! Stop making a pig of yourself," came her stern voice from behind Ron. At the sound of her voice Ron dropped the drumstick he was eating and froze. "Would you be so kind to turn around when I am talking to you?"

Ron nervously turned around to look at her and then said, "Sorry professor."

"Be sure that you remember your manners Mr. Weasley. Now, I came over here to ask you to come to my office when you are finished with dinner. I want to discuss your latest transfiguration essay with you," she responded.

Ron paled at her words and nodded.

"Then it is settled. I will see you after dinner. Good evening Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger." With that she headed out of the Great Hall.

"What did you do on your essay mate," Harry asked while Hermione looked on just as interested.

"I don't know," he responded. "I mean I did kind of rush to get it done."

"It will be okay Ron. If it was anything really bad I think she would have dragged you away as she was leaving," said Hermione. Harry nodded in agreement with her.

Relaxing he said, "Good point. Are you guys going back to the library after we get done eating?"

"Yup," responded Harry.

"Okay I will come find you guys as soon as I get done with McGonagall."

Nodding the trio finished eating and made their way out of the Great Hall. Turning to head to the left corridor Ron said, "See you guys soon."

Harry and Hermione just nodded and turned right to head to the library. After a minute Harry finally said, "I thought McGonagall was going to tell you and Ron off for helping me work on the egg."

"I know me too," responded Hermione. "I know you're not supposed to have any help, but there is no way I am letting you do this yourself. If I could I would come into the lake with you to help."

"Thanks Hermione," said Harry giving her a smile.

"You're welcome," she said smiling back. "Besides I know that if the situation was reversed you would do the same."

"Without a doubt," he responded.

Making their way into the library they went right to Hermione's table, which was located in a corner near the back of the library. They found the books they left off with and immediately set to work.

After an hour and a half of finding nothing Harry looked up and asked, "Anything?"

"No, not yet," she responded in a grim tone.

"I wonder where Ron has gotten too," said Harry trying to change the subject away from their depressing search.

"I don't know, but if he is skiving off on helping you to go and eat more I will hex him into next week," she said heatedly.

"I bet he is just – wait I can hear someone walking towards us. I bet that is him now," replied Harry.

A second later a figure with red hair came around the corner, but it wasn't Ron. "Ahh here you guys are. I have been looking everywhere for you," said Fred Weasley.

"What did you need us for? Also, have you seen Ron," asked Harry.

"Well I actually don't need you Harry. I just needed to find Hermione, and you were a bonus," he said grinning. "As for ickle Ronneikins, I have not seen him since dinner."

"What did you need me for," asked a bewildered Hermione. _"This better not be about some prank."_

"McGonagall sent me to find you and to tell you that she needs to see you right away in her office," replied Fred.

"What about," asked Harry. Even though he trusted Professor McGonagall he had a bad feeling about this situation.

"No idea," replied Fred. "She just said it was urgent that I track down Hermione and have her come to her office by herself."

Harry and Hermione shared a worried look. Both of them were thinking the same thing, _"Had Ron said something to Professor McGonagall about them helping Harry? Was she going to tell Hermione off for helping him?"_

Hermione was the first to break the silence, "Okay well I better go then. Don't worry Harry. I'm sure it can't be anything too bad. Bring as many of these books back to the common room with you as you can carry and I will meet you there." Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze she stood up and started to pack her bag.

The bad feeling that had started with Fred's words was growing, but Harry tried to push it away. _"This is Professor McGonagall we are talking about and she would never let anything happen to Hermione." _With a small smile he looked up at her and said, "Just hurry back. You know that I can't do anything without you."

"As soon as I can Harry," she replied with a smile. With that she turned and followed Fred out of the library.

Deciding that he didn't want to be alone in the library, Harry started to pack up his bag and then gathered up all of the books they still had to go through. Stacked on top of one another the stack of books was tall enough to fill his arms and cover his face. This made it extremely difficult to make it from the library to Gryffindor tower, but eventually he was able to get there.

"Seeker's Snitch," Harry called out.

"Right you are," came the voice of the Fat Lady as she opened up to let him in.

Harry climbed through the portrait hole and started to make his way across the common room towards the table that the trio had claimed. As he was walking he tried looking around for any sign of Ron. _"Where could he have gotten too," _thought Harry. In his intent to find Ron, Harry had stopped paying attention to where he was going and he walked right into Neville. Books started spilling in all directions and despite Harry's fast seeker reflexes he was not able to catch all of them.

"Sorry Neville," Harry apologized. "I was looking for Ron and wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay Harry," responded Neville. "Here, let me help you with all of these."

Stooping down they picked up all of the books and headed over to the trio's table. Putting down the large pile of books he was carrying Neville asked, "If you don't mind me asking Harry, what are you doing with all of these books?"

"_Should I tell Neville? Well it can't hurt and maybe he will have some advice. Plus, McGonagall isn't around so there is no way he can get into trouble for helping me," _thought Harry. With his decision made he started to explain, "Well I am trying to figure out how to survive underwater for an hour. Part of the task tomorrow is for me to go into the Black Lake and get back something that was stolen from me. So far though, I haven't been able to find anything that will help me breathe underwater."

"Well I don't know about any spells or charms that would help you," said Neville looking down at some of the books and Harry's heart started to sink. "But you could always use Gillyweed," he finished.

"What," asked Harry diving onto this new piece of information.

Seeing Harry's interest Neville replied, "Gillyweed, it's a plant that you eat and it allows you to breathe underwater for a period of time. The amount of time it works depends on how much you eat and how fast you metabolize it."

"_Finally! A solution,"_ thought Harry. "Neville do you know where I can get some of this Gillyweed?"

"Well we have some in greenhouse 4. I can get some for you tomorrow if you would like," said Neville.

"That would be great. Thank you, Neville. Thank you. You have no idea how much help you have been," exclaimed Harry.

"Really? Well I am glad that I could be of some help," he replied happily. "I will cut some and get it to you right before the task starts so that it will be fresh."

"Thanks again, Neville. If there is anything I can do to repay you just let me know," said Harry slapping Neville on the back.

With a smile Neville turned and headed out of the common room. With his problem solved Harry decided to wait for Ron and Hermione at their table. After a half hour of absently flipping through the books he brought from the library, Harry started to get anxious. The bad feeling that he had managed to push away earlier had come back in full force. _"She is with Professor McGonagall. She __is with Professor McGonagall and McGonagall would never let anything happen to her,"_ he thought trying to reassure himself. Finally, after chanting this to himself for several minutes, he decided to get something to distract himself. Running up to his dorm room he dug through his trunk to find his battered copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages. _Upon finding it he headed back downstairs to their table and started reading.

Page by page he read trying to lose himself in the book and to push away his fears. As the night wore on people slowly left the common room and went up to bed, never noticing him sitting at the table behind the books reading. Once they were all gone, Harry fought his fears and the heaviness of his eyes so that he could keep reading as he waited. Finally, late into the night, he succumbed to sleep with a final thought, _"She will be back soon."_

Thank you for reading and please review.


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